The History of Doner Kebab: How Did Doner Kebab Originate?

Doner Kebab is an important flavor that is globally recognized and known all over the world and in Turkey. It is also a food that everyone loves and is talked about in our culture.

In fact, it is such a curious subject that it is the reason why this conversation has emerged recently. I wrote an article about the history of doner kebab in the book 'L'Épıercerie Du Monde' published in France. Because this book is a book that tells a short history of global food and dishes from the 18th century to the present day. I was invited to write an article for this book and I wrote about döner and Turkish delight in this book.

Where did döner first appear?

The first question everyone wonders is "Where did döner first appear?". As a food historian, I would first like to say that the answers to some questions are not very clear and precise. This is not always to everyone's liking, but this is the reality.

Evliya Çelebi, who visited Crimea in the 1660s, described a type of kebab similar to today's cağ kebab. He mentions that the meat is cooked horizontally, like doner kebab, by placing the meat on top of each other and cooking it over a fire. This gives us the first clues about doner.

Before going into its history a bit more, it is necessary to tell us which cooking technique the doner belongs to. Döner is a kebab. It is a type of kebab. 'What is a kebab?' Kebab is a dry fire cooking technique without water. It is a term and technique used in Ottoman cuisine since the Seljuk period. Kebabs can be prepared on skewers, in a well and in a tandoor. There are even kebabs prepared in pots and jugs. Döner kebab is an important flavor that emerged in this geography within this love for kebabs and technical knowledge. It emerged in the Ottoman geography. Doner kebab has changed from a horizontal form to a vertical form because it is easier to apply in cities in a practical sense.

The first evidence about doner kebab that attracted my attention is a black and white photograph of a doner shop taken in Istanbul in 1855. In this black and white photograph, we see the doner master in front of a vertical doner. This means that in 1855, doner was a common food in Istanbul.

There are two stories about the first appearance of döner in Turkey. One of the stories says that it originated in Kastamonu, while the other says that it originated in Bursa. There is a claim that it was the first food originating from Kastamonu. There is a story that it was the invention of the İskenderoğlu family in Bursa in the 1880s. But on the other hand, there is this black and white photograph in Istanbul. I will leave this decision to you.

Who do you think invented the first doner?

Maybe it's hard to find the sole inventor, it came about spontaneously. Although we have been observing it since the Ottoman period, maybe it has been around even earlier. It also existed in the 1700s. There is no evidence yet.

There are various narh lists describing Istanbul in 1600-1700 and listing the food sold outside in Istanbul. In the documents that list the prices of foods such as kebabs and pastries sold on the street, we do not come across döner.

A French traveler who visited Istanbul in the 1880s writes his memoirs in French under a pseudonym. In his memoirs, he explains that there were two types of kebab on the streets of Istanbul in the 1880s. One is shish kebab and the other is döner kebab. From this article, we again witness that döner was sold on the streets of Istanbul in the 1880s.

When Does Doner Kebab Appear in Ottoman Turkish Cookbooks?

It first appears in a cookbook called 'housewife' in 1883. What will surprise you is not the date, but the name. It appears as Izmir kebab, very interesting. In fact, I read it two or three times when I read it for the first time because it was in Ottoman Turkish. I was surprised. The recipe under the name Izmir kebab describes doner kebab.

In the memoirs of travelers who visited the Ottoman geography between 1900 and 1915, there is information about döner not only in Istanbul but also in other cities. For example, there is such a record in Amasya in 1915.

In short, doner is an important cultural heritage inherited from Ottoman cuisine to today's Turkish cuisine and interpreted in delicious forms by the masters in this adventure. While interpreting doner as a cultural heritage, it is important to mention Iskender kebab because it is one of the most delicious forms of doner. Iskender kebab is a flavor unique to Bursa. It is a different flavor brought to us by the İskenderoğlu family.

The Place of Doner in the World

Doner Kebab is a well-known and loved delicacy not only in Turkey but all over the world, but it is known by different names in Europe and the rest of the world. For example, in France it is known as 'gyros' rather than döner. In Mexico, it is known as 'al pastor'. In Lebanon, doner is known as 'shawarma'. What is the reason for this?

Do you know that a few years ago, in the World Food Atlas published in France, döner was identified as almost a national food in Germany? Because doner kebab is mostly known and consumed in Europe.

The story of this is as Pierre Raffard, a Frenchman who has been working in this field for a long time, tells us. In other words, the introduction of doner kebab to Europe took place in several stages. Although the first doner shops opened in Berlin in the 1970s, the arrival of doner in Europe was actually a bit earlier. In the 1920s, Greek immigrants from the Ottoman Empire brought the first döner to France and opened döner shops there. Here, they did not call doner doner but 'gyros' among themselves. Doner kebab finds its own form in every country it enters, adapting to the tastes of that country.

After the 1961 labor law, Turkish immigrants became the second wave to spread doner in Germany, which received many immigrants from Turkey. Doner kebab shops opened in the Turkish neighborhood of Berlin and soon became popular with many people as a practical, quick and delicious food. Later on, doner shops became a common sight. In Germany, Belgium, the Netherlands, London, Paris, all these cities have döner shops. Even if with different names. As I mentioned, each country has its own interpretation of doner kebab. For example, in Germany there is curry doner, in France, especially in places called 'gyros', they ask you which sauce you prefer with your doner. Among the sauces, there are tzazki, hummus or harissa sauces. Since the French love the sauce, the bread is first smeared with the sauce and then served with pieces of doner and salad.

In the Ottoman Empire, doner kebab was mainly made from mutton, which was more acceptable. In Turkey today, it is made not only with mutton but also with beef. Over time, doner has also been made with other meats. For example, we all know chicken doner. In Greece, doner is also made with pork.

The third wave in the story of doner abroad is the Lebanese. The Lebanese immigrated to South America and introduced doner kebab to Mexico and South America. Here, with the name 'al pastor', doner again localizes itself. It reaches a different form made of pork and marinated with pineapple juice and gains the appreciation of everyone there.

In short, just like pizza, pasta and hamburgers, doner is a flavor that almost everyone in the world recognizes, knows and prefers. Because doner kebab is a delicious food that can be eaten both in luxury forms and on the go.

Bakınız; Homemade iskender kebab recipe

'Döner nasıl ortaya çıktı?' yazımıza göz atmayı unutmayın.